SOUND CHECK: Thomas Dolby's latest quest to save historic lighthouses

"The Invisible Lighthouse" is a new film Thomas Dolby shot and edited himself, detailing the closure of a beautiful lighthouse on the tip of a mysterious ex-military island off the East Coast of England. In a 20-date tour of historic arthouse cinemas and independent film festivals, Dolby will perform a live narration and musical score in front of a projected film image, accompanied by Foley artist/musician/sound designer Blake Leyh. Between them they will bring to U.S. audiences an innovative hybrid of documentary and art installation, as they manipulate sound, music and lighting to dramatic effect.

Dolby’s “The Invisible Lighthouse Live” tour is a multimedia production that features a film he made about a decaying lighthouse near where he lives off the east coast of England. In concert he accompanies the footage with his own narration and keyboard playing, while sound and lighting engineer Blake Leyh provides live effects. The show also includes an “Inside the Actor’s Studio” segment with a guest appearance by a special guest (in Royal Oak it will be Paul Sizer, Dolby’s collaborator on the Map of the Floating City interactive game), as well as a selection of Dolby’s older songs because “people won’t let me leave the building without playing a couple of songs from the ’80s,” such as “She Blinded Me With Science” and “Hyperactive!”

“It’s quite a full evening,” says Dolby, 55, whose last album, “A Map of the Floating City,” came out in 2011. “When I put together the film I thought it would make a very interesting live show. It’s certainly different than just going up there and playing songs.”

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The film, meanwhile, has made Dolby a public advocate for lighthouses in general, including the 46 in the U.S. that are on what’s referred to as a “doomsday list.”

“It’s one thing to arouse strong feelings from people, quite another to get anything done about it,” Dolby notes. “Lighthouses were sort of a transitionary technology, bridging between celestial navigation and the smart phone. Nowadays with satellite and radar and GPS, the average weekend yachtsman has better navigation on his smart phone than he gets from lighthouses.

“So you have to question whether, given the fondness we have for them and the history surrounding them, do we have an obligation to preserve them, or should they be left to deteriorate? The little red lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge (in New York) was saved because of a children’s book, so it’s clear that we don’t have to just let these things crumble and waste away.”

Thomas Dolby brings his Invisible Lighthouse Live tour to town Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave, Ferndale, 248-544-3030 Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25-$60. Note this is a change of venue and tickets for the Royal Oak Music Theatre will be honored at the Magic Bag.Visit www.themagicbag.com.